1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a process for the construction of a nuclear reactor having a reinforced concrete pressure vessel with at least a center cavity in the concrete vessel to receive the reactor installations and a liner fitted against the internal surface of the concrete forming the center cavity and the reactor so constructed.
2. Background of the Prior Art
In the course of the construction of a nuclear reactor, the reinforced concrete pressure vessel very significantly determines the overall construction time of the nuclear reactor. Conventionally, the concrete of the reinforced concrete pressure vessel is poured in layers. It is also conventional to line the inner wall of the reinforced concrete pressure vessel. A nuclear reactor of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,221,262, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein.
The installation of the reactor, especially of the core components and the components of the primary cooling medium circuit may be effected under "clean conditions" only. That is, installation of components is performed only when the internal space of the reinforced concrete pressure vessel is shielded and air-conditioned with respect to the outside environment in order to avoid contaminations of the internal areas of the reactor.
In order to satisfy these conditions, heretofore the reinforced concrete pressure vessel was poured and the liner was fixedly anchored in the wall of the reinforced concrete pressure vessel. Following the completion of pouring and lining to form the cavity and thus an internal space that could be shielded toward the outside, the internal area of the reinforced concrete pressure vessel could be accessible for the installation of the reactor components. In view of the numerous concrete sections of the vessel, this resulted in the fact that only after a substantial assembly period was there available an internal cavity made dust-free and air-conditioned, wherein the complicated and expensive installation of the reactor components could be initiated.